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Governor Signs First Bills of 2013 Session

February 13, 2013

To prevent a nearly $700 million shortfall in program funding, Governor Nathan Deal this morning signed Senate Bill 24, the Hospital Medicaid Financing Program Act. The act allows the Department of Community Health to charge hospitals provider fees, which serve as matching funds to draw down federal Medicaid dollars.

Without the passage of the act, a number of hospitals that care for large populations of Medicaid patients, particularly those hospitals in rural and low-income communities, ran the risk of financial hardship or closure.

Governor Deal also signed House Bill 55 into law this morning. The bill grants law enforcement officers more freedom to use investigation warrants to track those suspected of criminal activity.